The year 2016 was tough for startups and entrepreneurs. It just took 12 months for what was a norm in 2014 to 2015 to turn into tales or folklore. For the ones who were bootstrapped, the funding was tough to come by. For the ones that had funding, the investor expectations became difficult to match and manage. The customers were not easy to get, and once on-boarded, not easy to retain.
All the ventures, whether funded or bootstrapped, were stress-tested for their business models, unit economics, and the grit of the teams.
In the years 2014 and 2015, a lot of folks started up not because they wanted to be entrepreneurs, but because they were pulled into the game by its glamour. Everyone was getting funded. Almost everyone.
The Indian startup ecosystem became one of the most active ecosystems of the world. In the last quarter of 2015, things started falling apart. The funding winter set in. Many of the startups shut shop. Many of the founders went back to their day jobs. Some stayed back.
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The ones who stayed back were either already funded or wanted to do it so bad that never wanted to turn back. They opted for the stress test — worked on to make the business models sustainable. They have tried to beat a dollar out of every penny.
The startups that will be now be vying for funding are the ones that have survived the winter and crossed the ‘valley of death’. Even if they haven’t been able…